ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade General Discussion Area Single Conductor Woes...

Yes all conductors must be in the same raceway or cable but that is not interpreted to mean that all conductors must be present at all points in all circuits. If I carry the neutral wire to a switch what will I do with it at the switch? Run it back to the load it just came from? That is not required by the code and makes no theoretical sense. The code is saying that you can't run the ungrounded conductors in one cable or raceway and the grounded conductors in a seperate one. That DOES cause problems, but that is not the situation that oldguy is asking about.

It's important to note that NEC 2002 300.3(B) includes the words "where used" to refer to the ungrounded conductors of a circuit. These conductors are not used in a switch loop no matter how many switches are in the loop.

gregtaylor...thanks for all the details. what about the scenario with the plugs...in my link a few posts back? Still learning...thanks again!!

Couldn't get to the Flick'r link, it just wouldn.t work for me. What was the example you had in mind?

Sorry about that. I'll try to explain it. Say there are 6 plugs wired on a circuit in a room. The homeowner wants to be able to operate the bottom half of plugs 2 and 4 with a switch (same switch for both). Proposed solution (based on accessibility) would be this...break the tabs on the hot side of plugs 2 and 4. Run a new 2-wire NMD from the new switch, into a JB near the plug #2, then to plug #2. The white would be connected to the hot feed wire at plug #2 and the black to the bottom hot screw of plug #2. At the JB between the switch and plug #2...run another 2-wire NMD to plug #4 using only the black wire to connect the hot return from the switch to the hot screw on the bottom of plug #4 (from JB to plug #4). The white wire would be unused in this cable. I know there are a number of other ways to do this...and it's not good practise...but this is the example we are discussing. I am looking for the death and flaming inferno information on doing this. Hope this makes sense...the photo would be better. What about this...http://www.flickr.com/photos/8155033@N04/486509925 Thanks again!!

Yeah I see the poor practice issue here but not an actual code violation as long as we're talking about everything being on 1 circuit. It's still just a switch loop and the grounded conductor is already where you need it. Make sure you reidentify any white wire that's NOT used as a grounded conductor though.
Clearly not all the readers agree with my view on this. I'd be interested in what some who are inspectors have to say. George?

Yes...there have been many opinions on this from "no problem" to "deadly". Love to have more professional input...and inspector input would be A-1. Even though I'm in Canada, it doesn't really change the fact that I am being told by some that this is a deadly arrangement. Eddy currents and induction knows no geographical boundaries. Thanks again!!